Torsion Bar question

[375instroke]

Does everyone assume that stiffer bars always equate to better cornering ability, and anything softer that max stiffness will always be a compromise between cornering and comfort?  A guy at work races a Viper, and some car that looks like a Formula 1 car, and he says people building street cars always go too stiff on their spring rates.  Also, even when the suspension is dialed in to max cornering ability, a rougher track requires a softer suspension, or else, small bumps and irregularities on the track will cause a tire to loose contact with the road, and throw you into the tire barricade.

[b5blue]

I run HD Mopar 440 bars and like the way it tracks/rides just fine. There are 1000 opinions on this stuff, I just go with the best factory grades I can.

[HPP]

Does everyone assume that stiffer bars always equate to better cornering ability, and anything softer that max stiffness will always be a compromise between cornering and comfort?  A guy at work races a Viper, and some car that looks like a Formula 1 car, and he says people building street cars always go too stiff on their spring rates.  Also, even when the suspension is dialed in to max cornering ability, a rougher track requires a softer suspension, or else, small bumps and irregularities on the track will cause a tire to loose contact with the road, and throw you into the tire barricade.

Well, to gain cornering ability you have to increase roll resistance. Roll resistance is improved through either higher t-bar rates or higher s-bar rates or a combination of the two.

There is a saying in racing that you only use as much spring (t-bar in this case) as necessary to do the job intended. The issue with classic mopars are there are only a few t-bar choices. In other words, the biggest torsion bar you can fit in a Charger is only equivilent to a 800# spring in a chevy or around a 650# spring in a coil over set up. Neither of which, depending on the track they are intended, for are very heavy in competition terms.  In an autocross or high banked oval, this means the best a mopar can get is only going to be around an entry level rate compared to many other applications. Conversely, on moderate banking, road courses, or street use, it may be possible to over spring a classic mopar. So intended use is a big factor here. But since handling is a more recent deal for a lot of mopars owners than it was a decade or two ago, we also tend to see some over the top thoughts on springing mopars much like we saw over the top engine combos a decade ago.

Additionally, depending on the competition application it is used in, better control may also come from using larger sway bars and lighter spring rates. However, again we are back to the limited selection available for stock appearing sway bars applications. However, if your willing to fabricate the set up and have something that looks non-original, then your selection improves greatly. Since the vast majority of mopars seem to be built as restorations or drag cars, this type of fab is rarely seen on our cars.

Also worth noting is that in going with big bar/small spring set up you are going to need to change shock valving quite a bit from what is also offered off the shelf. Since most street guys do not understand or see the value in spending a $1000 on a set of shocks for a street car, some of the benfit of this combination can be lost on all but the most serious racer who is willing to experiment to find the best combination of compression and extension for the new behavior of the soft spring/big bar combo.

[elacruze]

Well, like I said, I think my front bars are worn out. The passenger side one is already maxxed out.

Maybe you have a mismatched set, or two lefts. I'd check that they're both installed with the correct rotation.